Art for Health

HVHC's Art of Health program was recently featured in the New York Times.

EYE-CATCHING. John C. Federspiel, president of the Hudson Valley Hospital Center, and Suzanne Bohrer Ashley, its art curator, in one of the halls the hospital has transformed through its Art for Health program. Photo by Joyce Dopkeen for The New York Times.

About The Program

The ART FOR HEALTH project will create 11 designated gallery spaces throughout the facility to better meet our patients’ emotional needs. Only the highest quality original fine art will be displayed, reflecting the high quality of health care provided at the hospital. Not only will these galleries provide a therapeutic service, but they will also offer an educational experience to our viewers while embracing the active, local artistic community at the same time

Recent research strongly suggests that the following subject matter in art exhibitions has a positive impact on people under stress:

Calm Waterscapes
Landscapes with visual depth or open foreground
Flowers
Emotionally positive Figures

In the past decade, the art community has borrowed an expression from medicine, “evidence-based medicine” and created a new buzz word, “evidence-based art”. Now that the research on “evidence-based art” continues to show that there are many health benefits, we will be responding with a greater commitment to fine art.

Along with the new construction at Hudson Valley Hospital Center, we envision an overall theme of bringing nature inside the building to create a healing environment. There will be increased space for galleries where we plan to exhibit the highest quality of original art available. While most of the art will be selected from local talent, we intend to expand our competitive search nationally and apply for grant monies available to the arts to cover our expenses.

How to Contribute

Several opportunities exist for private donors to participate in the ART FOR HEALTH project.

First, the hospital would like to acquire works of high quality fine art from established artists who can bring excitement to our ART FOR HEALTH Project. Contributions toward the purchase of paintings will be accepted in $1,000 increments and donors’ names will be prominently displayed on a large ART FOR HEALTH plaque.

Second, we invite donors to contribute any amount toward the maintenance of our cell phone guide tour of the art galleries and other educational materials.

Third, we invite you to consider a naming opportunity for one of the galleries by speaking with Bill Dauster, Director of the Foundation. Designated gallery spaces will be located in the Main Lobby, the first, second and third floors of the new patient tower, as well as the PCU, Surgery, and Diagnostic Imaging waiting rooms, the main hall original building, lower level Wagner hallway area, Dempsey House, and Pataki Center.

Fourth, we invite you to consider donating a work of art you already own or have created yourself by contacting our Curator, Suzanne Bohrer Ashley at smithstudio1@comcast.net. Please join us in this worthy endeavor.

The Art

Click arrows for slideshow:

The Artists

Listed below are web sites of artists whose work is either currently on display or has been displayed at the hospital:

Leela Bora
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Biagio Civale
Marcy B. Freedman
Michele Gage
Elaine Galen
Anne Johann
Bernie Kessler
Andrew Lattimore
Leslie Lew
Stacey Petzold
Olive Reich
Dyan Rosenberg
HM Saffer
Arlé Sklar-Weinstein
Phyllis Smith
Cheryl Vlachos
Suzanne Bohrer Ashley